Young Justice: Common Cold
by Griffin Stone
Summary: With most of the members of Young Justice suffering from a cold and the Justice League busy, there is only one member of Young Justice left to care for his sick teammates: Robin.


**A/N: There seems to be plenty of YJ fan fictions where it is the Robins who get sick, but few of anyone else. I get that, since most of the members of Young Justice are aliens or in some way naturally resistant of human illnesses. Still, I couldn't help but wonder: what if everyone BUT Robin got sick? And then I just couldn't help myself. The symptoms the members suffer from may be a little too individual, but it was fun to write, anyway. Artemis was my favorite to write.**

 **Someonethe3rd suggested in a review to have a story about Robin being the one sick. Since that may not happen (see above) I have a bonus one-shot I added at the end instead. Enjoy!**

* * *

It had been a full day and night of patrolling with Batman, and Robin was under strict orders to go straight to bed and rest. And he fully intended to follow those orders... right after he checked in with the team.

He quickly changed out of uniform into his civilian clothes, and snuck past Alfred to the zeta tubes in the basement.

* * *

 _Recognized... Robin B-zero-1_

Robin wasn't expecting anyone to be at Mount Justice besides Connor and Megan-they did live there- except for maybe Kaldur. He knew the team had gone on a mission the day before without him since he had been with Batman, and wanted to see how it had gone.

As soon as he stepped from the zeta tube, Robin felt the floor shaking under his feet. He dropped into a crouch, eyes darting behind his sunglasses as he attempted to find the source. Soon enough, the cause appeared in the form of Wally as he walked- no, vibrated- into the room.

"Wally?" Robin said, standing.

"H-h-hey, R-r-robin," Wally said, his voice jumping up and down as fast as his body.

Robin shook his head. "Wally, what are you doing?" He frowned as a thought struck him. "And, what are you doing here so early? Is there a mission already?"

"N-no, m-m-my p-p-parents a-a-are g-g-gone f-f-for th-the d-day. I-I w-w-was s-s-suppos-s-sed t-t-to s-s-spend th-th-the d-day w-w-with U-u-uncle B-b-barry, b-b-b-but h-he g-got c-c-called f-f-for a-a-a m-m-mission."

Robin put a hand to his face. He had understood only half of what Wally had said, and wasn't sure if there was an explanation as to why he wouldn't stand still. Wally could be pretty antsy, but Robin had rarely seen him this bad. Unless...

Robin groaned and dragged his hand down his face. "Wally, do you have a cold?"

"B-b-bingo."

Most people assumed that Wally didn't get sick, due to his super-speed immune system. And while he seemed more immune than most humans, Wally could still get sick if a particularly stubborn virus managed to reproduce as quickly as his body ran. Colds always caused Wally to shiver at super-speed, and there was no way to slow himself down.

"Is Kaldur here?" Robin asked, preferring to ask someone else the specifics on when Wally had gotten sick.

"L-l-lounge, b-but-"

"Good," Robin interrupted, walking away before Wally could finish.

* * *

Robin found the rest of the team inside the lounge, all dressed in their civilian clothes. Robin immediately sensed something was off in the room, and it wasn't just the human-sized dents in the wall or the fact that pretty much everything that wasn't secured down was scattered across the floor.

Kaldur was half-sitting, half-laying in the corner of the couch. He had a grimace on his face and one hand pressed to his chest. Connor stood in the center of the room, wearing an expression of concentration. Megan stood slightly behind and beside him, holding one hand to her nose and the other holding a box of tissues. Artemis slumped forward in a chair, eyes half shut and holding her bow listlessly in one hand.

"What happened?" Robin asked, afraid his team had been hurt in his absence.

Everyone in the room jumped and looked at Robin.

"It is nothing," Kaldur said, his voice a shallow wheeze. "We-"

Connor's face suddenly twisted. His eyes closed and his mouth came open in a sharp inhale.

"Here comes anoder one!" Megan yelped, her voice strangely nasally, as she dropped to the floor.

Kaldur threw himself to the side so he laid flat on the couch. Artemis leaned forward, basically falling from the chair to the floor.

Robin felt Wally's vibrating hands shove him from behind. Normally, a push from Wally wasn't enough to throw Robin off balance. But surprise, confusion, and the fact that Robin's entire body began shaking as soon as Wally touched him was enough to send him sprawling beside Wally.

Connor was now the only one standing. He took another large breath, paused, then let out the loudest sneeze Robin had ever heard!

The force of the sneeze sent Connor flying backwards into the wall, creating another dent, and blew over the chair Artemis had been sitting in.

After a moment, Connor sat up and rubbed his nose. Megan ran over to hand him a tissue while Kaldur, moving slowly, helped Artemis onto the couch with him.

Robin sat up, straightening his sunglasses from where they had fallen near the end of his nose. The team's behavior made sense to him now.

"You all caught a cold?" Robin said incredulously.

"B-b-bingo," Wally said.

"How?" Robin asked.

Kaldur started to speak, but Megan shushed him and explained herself.

"Wally said id was da swamp wader," Megan said. "We all were soaked and raid on." Megan paused to blow her nose. "We spend the nighd here, and woke up like dis."

Robin did his best to hide a smile. "So, Kaldur caught a cold because he got wet? Really? And Megan, can't you just shape-shift or something to get rid of the cold?"

"Can'd concentrade well enough," Megan said.

"Y-yeah, sh-she c-c-can't e-e-even d-d-do th-the m-m-mind l-link," Wally said.

Robin turned to Connor. "I thought Kryptonians couldn't get human sicknesses."

Connor brushed the last bit of plaster from his shoulder. "Guess whatever is keeping back some of my powers caused it."

Artemis, looking even more out of it than when Robin had first entered, lifted her head from Kaldur's shoulder. "I never get sick."

"Yes, yes," Robin said with a sigh.

Artemis had the strangest response to sickness Robin had ever seen. Out of nowhere, she would become tired and lethargic. With a couple hours, she would go into a deep sleep. While the resting allowed Artemis to recover pretty fast, she found her response to be very embarrassing. Especially since more serious illness made her delirious at times.

There was one instance in particular that Wally would never let her forget. It was a few months after Artemis had joined the team. She had been acting tired during the mission, and when the team returned to Mount Justice, Artemis had passed out.

The team had been frantic and contacted Green Arrow at once since no one knew who her parents were or where she lived. Green Arrow had assured them that she was fine, and that he would come to pick her up. Before signing off, he had warned the team that Artemis might act a little strange.

Wally had been the one to find out what Green Arrow meant. While he was settling her on the couch, Artemis had suddenly reached up and patted Wally on the head, telling him he was a "good kitty."

Artemis claimed to have no memory of what happened that day, but she always turned red if Wally hinted at the "good kitty" part.

Now, despite her statement, Artemis was drooping lower on the couch, eyes closing completely.

Robin surveyed his other teammates, noting the way each had been affected. Kaldur had a chest cold, a pretty severe one if his labored breathing was any indication. Megan had a runny and stuffed-up nose. Connor had a serious case of sneezing.

A beeping sound from the main room of Mount Justice caught Robin's attention.

"Wait here," Robin told the team, hurrying out of the room.

A holographic screen had appeared in the center of the room, showing Batman's face. Robin winced, wondering if Batman had called because he had disobeyed his orders to rest.

The ridges of Batman's cowl raised almost imperceptibly at Robin's arrival, but he didn't say anything about Robin supposing to be at home. After all, _he_ wasn't.

"Where is the rest of the team?" Batman asked.

"Sick," Robin answered. "Their mission yesterday left them wet and cold, and they all caught colds."

Again, the ridge rose slightly. "Even Aqualad?"

"Even Aqualad," Robin confirmed.

Batman "hmmed." "How sick are they?"

Robin explained all their symptoms, finishing with, "I don't think any of them will be able to go on any missions today."

"Agreed. The Justice League will take care of business."

"I can help," Robin dared to offer.

"You will stay with your teammates," Batman said. "Red Tornado is aiding the Justice League currently."

Robin nodded. That explained the android's absence.

"As soon as we finish, I will send the mentors to pick up Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Artemis, and Red Tornado can care for Superboy and Miss Martian."

Robin drew himself up. "I'll take care of them until then."

There was a pause. "Do not get sick yourself." Batman's image disappeared.

Robin grinned to himself as he turned to rejoin his teammates.

When Robin re-entered the lounge, he saw Kaldur struggling to stand. Megan and Connor were holding him down, the latter seeming on the verge of another sneeze.

"Kaldur, sit down," Robin ordered.

Kaldur paused in his attempts, looking over his shoulder. "Was that a mission?"

"Yep." Robin walked in front of Kaldur and crossed his arms. "Rest."

Kaldur raised an eyebrow. "Is that what Batman said?"

Robin shrugged. "More or less."

"L-less i-i-if I-I-I kn-now B-b-batman," Wally said.

"First order of business, stop talking, Wally," Robin said.

"B-b-bossy," Wally muttered.

"Ah, ah." Robin wagged a finger under Wally's vibrating nose. "What did I say?"

"Second, everyone needs to be in bed," Robin decided.

Connor shook his head. "That won't work for me. I'll just sneeze myself out."

"And Wally falls oud of everyding he sids on," Megan said.

"I've got it under control," Robin said confidently.

In short order, Robin had his teammates bedded down in the lounge. He had rigged up a pair of hammocks using his grappling wires and some blankets for Wally and Connor. As an extra precaution, he even harnessed them in the hammocks to prevent them from vibrating or sneezing out. Kaldur sat up on the couch, since that was the only position in which he could breathe somewhat easily. Artemis laid across the length of the couch, with her head on Kaldur's lap. Megan occupied a cot that Robin had set up beside the couch.

Robin surveyed his teammates with a satisfied grin. They all seemed more relaxed now that Robin had made them all settle down. Kaldur was breathing a bit better now. Wally's vibrating had slowed somewhat, but he had also been worryingly quiet while Robin was getting his hammock set up.

"Now, who's hungry?"

Wally's hand shot up. Robin mentally kicked himself for not thinking of the speedster sooner. Wally ran through energy fairly fast even when he wasn't super-speeding. With how much vibrating Wally had been doing, no wonder he was acting so drained.

"You can cook?" Megan asked, sounding surprised.

Robin just grinned at her and turned on his heel to head into the kitchen. While he couldn't say so out loud -secret identity, and all that- Robin had spent a lot of time in the kitchen of Batman's manor with Alfred, so it was inevitable that he would pick up some things.

Robin fixed up a large pot of chicken noodle soup, humming under his breath as he worked. He filled up four bowls and grabbed some energy bars for Wally, and handed them out to his teammates.

Wally perked up after gobbling down three energy bars, prompting Robin to gather some more for him. Artemis woke up long enough for Robin to feed her half a bowl of soup before drifting off again.

Then Connor sneezed, sending the remains of his soup and his bowl scattering across the room. At least he stayed in the hammock, Robin figured, as he set to cleaning up the spilled soup.

"Stay put," Robin told everyone once he had finished cleaning, and headed to the infirmary to find medicines for his teammates.

* * *

For several minutes, Robin could only stare at the variety of medicines in the cabinets. As familiar as he was with medicines for cuts and bruises, Robin realized he didn't know what to use for a cold. Add to the fact that half the team weren't human, anything Wally took would be absorbed too quickly into his bloodstream for it to be very effective, and Artemis' sleeping response pretty much took care of any illness, and well...

Robin closed the cabinet and left the infirmary empty-handed.

* * *

"Kaldur, stay still," Robin scolded for the fifth time in the last hour.

"Sorry, but it is just not my way to remain still for long amounts of time," Kaldur apologized.

Robin got up from the chair he had been sitting in. His teammates really needed to rest, but aside from Artemis, none of them were tired. It had been two hours, and everyone was getting restless.

"How about some games?" Robin suggested.

His teammates were quick to agree, so Robin dug out some board games and spread them out on the table. The rest of the team had been set in a rough circle around the lounge's table, and they all leaned over to check out the games.

"What do you want to play?"

At that moment, Artemis opened her eyes and turned her head to stare intently at Robin. In the most serious voice ever, she said, "Life." Then she closed her eyes and seemed to fall deeper into sleep.

"Um... Life it is, then?" Robin questioned, holding up the board game.

"D-d-dude, I-I d-d-don't th-think sh-sh-she m-m-meant th-the g-g-game."

"Artemis is practically in a coma," Robin said, not unkindly. "I doubt anything she says means anything."

"F-fair p-p-point."

Everyone agreed with Artemis' "choice," so Robin cleared the other board games from the table, and set up Life. Since the first time the team had played the game, the little car pieces had been painted and to resemble each of the team member's uniform or their mentor's vehicle.

The game went quickly, and everyone's spirits rose. Robin had to move Wally and Connor's pieces for them, but neither boy minded. Artemis' green Arrow car was often left unmoving for long periods of time, since she was not awake to move her piece. Occasionally, someone would remember and spin for her, but it was inevitably left behind.

Some time later, Robin slid Wally's red plastic car with a yellow lightning bolt on top to the finish line on the board. Wally's teammates all glared at him.

"Wh-what?" Wally asked, distracted from his winning boasting.

"How doed he do id?" Megan asked, slowly shaking her head.

Wally raised his hands in self-defense. "H-h-hey, I-I k-k-keep t-telling y-y-you: I-I d-d-don't ch-ch-cheat."

"Never even touched the board," Robin said, turning his face to hide his grin from his friend.

It was an ongoing joke that, since Wally almost always won games, that he must be cheating somehow. There was a pretty good chance that Wally was just plain good at games- if he really did have a way to win most sorts of games, he would have bragged about it long ago- but everyone liked teasing Wally about it. Robin suspected that Wally enjoyed it.

"I-I... N-n-never...," Wally gave up and threw his hands in the air.

"New game?" Robin asked, clearing Life away.

"Chess," Connor said challengingly to Wally.

"Y-you're o-o-on."

Robin smiled as he set up a table between Connor and Wally's hammocks. The pair had an ongoing battle of chess. For some reason, Connor lasted the longest against Wally, despite the science-minded speedster knowing every trick in the book. It might have been pure luck the first few times, but the team was starting to realize the Connor was a really good strategist if he would slow down and think.

While the pair started their game- Connor moving Wally's pieces for him- Kaldur, Megan, and Robin began a card game.

After an hour of card games, Robin was studying his hand when he realized that neither of his teammates hadn't taken their turn in the last few minutes. He glanced up, then dropped his cards as he leaped to his feet.

Kaldur was leaning off to the side, staring blankly through half-closed lids. Megan was a pale green, and stared at her cards as if she couldn't focus.

Robin put a hand to the Atlantian and Martian's foreheads. He bit his lip when he felt how hot and dry their skin was. Why hadn't he remembered sooner?! Colds could sometimes cause fevers, which spelled disaster for the heat susceptible teens.

Robin jumped to his feet, jerking his head back and forth between the teens. What should he do?!

"Okay, Robin, stay whelmed," Robin chided himself.

Robin took a deep breath and made himself calm down.

A moment later, his eyes widened and he snapped his fingers. Whenever he had a fever, Alfred would put damp cloths on his forehead and make sure he drank water!

Robin quickly checked that Wally and Connor were still playing chess without any issues, then dashed to the kitchen. He filled a pitcher with water, then grabbed some empty cups and two towels.

Megan was able to take the glass of water Robin handed to her and drink it, but Kaldur seemed only half-conscious. Robin had to hold his leader's head up while he carefully poured some water into his mouth. After a scary, motionless moment, Kaldur swallowed. He sighed, and relaxed.

Robin dipped the towels in the remaining water. He told Megan to lay back down and put one damp towel on her forehead. Then he wiped Kaldur's face with the second towel until the boy revived slightly.

"What..." Kaldur rasped out.

Robin shushed him. "Don't talk. You and Megan have a bit of a fever with your cold. Keep this towel on your forehead and let me know if you start to feel hot or dizzy."

Kaldur nodded slightly, eyelids sliding shut.

Robin checked on Megan again, relieved to find her skin color normal again. She seemed to have dropped into a light sleep, so Robin tip-toed to the kitchen.

Robin refilled the pitcher, then brought water to Kaldur and Connor. He managed to get a little water down Artemis' throat as well.

Wally was a little more tricky. As soon as the boy touched anything, it would vibrate. Holding a glass was out of the question. Eventually, he came with the idea of using a long, plastic tube like a straw. Keeping the glass a good five feet away, Wally was able to suck water through the tube without getting it all over.

While Connor and Wally started up their third game of chess, Robin sat back in the lounge to keep an eye on his other teammates. Kaldur had fallen asleep as well, the fever having drained his energy. Robin kept damp clothes on his and Megan's face.

A little bit after noon, Kaldur and Megan woke up. Robin warmed the soup back up and handed out bowls, making sure Kaldur and Megan's soup was not overly hot, and got Wally his sixth or seventh box of energy bars. Robin was starting to lose count. Artemis wouldn't wake up enough to eat, so Robin fed her a little broth, telling himself she was always like this when she got sick; by the next day, she would be back to normal.

The group tried to watch tv, but Kaldur and Megan fell back asleep within an hour, and Connor and Wally soon followed suit.

By then, Robin was starting to feel tired himself. He shook himself and stood up from the chair. He couldn't fall asleep; what if one of his teammates woke up and needed him?

Robin busied himself with checking on Kaldur and Megan's fevers. They weren't as hot anymore. Good. As a precaution, he re-wet the towels he had left on their foreheads.

Robin stepped back and studied his friends. What else did Alfred do when he was sick? Soup, wet clothes, rest... and kept him covered up!

He searched the rooms of Mount Justice, dragging every available blanket and pillow to the lounge. At first, he was hesitant to cover up Kaldur and Megan, but Alfred always insisted on Robin staying covered up when he was sick, even if he had a fever. Wally was tricky to cover up: every time Robin put a blanket on him, it was vibrated to the floor. Finally, Robin gritted his teeth and tucked the blanket tightly around and under Wally. Robin felt like some of his teeth might have rattled loose, but at least Wally was covered.

Satisfied that his teammates were as well off as he could put them, Robin set about cleaning up the scattered objects that Connor had sneezed away and Wally had vibrated to the ground.

When Robin had finished cleaning, it was starting to get late. Robin checked the zeta tubes every ten minutes, even though he knew that he would hear when someone arrived. His teammates were doing fine- really good, actually- but Robin was afraid he might forget something or do something wrong. Who knew what aliens and Atlantians did for illnesses?

When his teammates woke up again, Robin was distracted from his worries as fed out more energy bars and soup- Megan joked that she would turn into soup pretty soon- and made them all drink water.

After they had finished, they went right back to sleep. Robin wandered around the lounge, tucking in a blanket here and wetting a towel there.

Finally, Robin had to admit he needed to sleep himself. He had been up for more than 36 hours, and all his teammates were resting peacefully. He sat in a chair and closed his eyes.

"Just a few minutes," he told himself.

* * *

 _Recognized... Batman zero-two_

 _Recognized... Flash zero-four_

 _Recognized... Aquaman zero-six_

 _Recognized... Red Tornado sixteen_

 _Recognized... Green Arrow zero-eight_

The newly arrived Justice League members looked around the large room, expecting Robin to have been waiting when they came.

"I'll find them," Barry offered, and "flashed" away. He was back a second later. "Come on, you have to see this!"

Barry led the others to the lounge, then stood to the side with his hands on his hips like a proud father.

The entire team was asleep. Wally's vibrating had mostly died down and now ran in time with his breathing: speeding up on the inhale, slowing on the exhale. Connor, despite the harness keeping him in place, had somehow twisted himself onto his stomach and was now a tangle of blankets and straps, one arm slung over the edge of the hammock. Megan had moved onto the couch, and she, Kaldur, and Artimis were snuggled together in a bundle of blankets and arms, heads resting on each other's shoulders.

Robin was still in the chair where he had told himself just a few minutes, which had been three hours ago. He had balled himself up in his sleep, sunglasses slightly askew from the chair arm where his cheek rested. Someone had put a blanket over him and a pillow under his head, though the pillow had fallen to the floor from his sleepy movements. A cold bowl of soup and glass of water lay untouched on a table beside the chair.

For a moment, the mentors could only stare at the sleeping teens. Oliver was the first to step forward.

"Her mother will be wondering about her," he whispered.

Oliver gently untangled Artemis from her teammate, cradling her as he stepped back. The girl stiffened at first, eyelids fluttering in a threat of awakening, then relaxed in Oliver's gentle grasp.

Barry went next, scooping Wally neatly from the hammock. The boy's vibrating did not affect his uncle in the slightest, as the older speedster simply vibrated his own arms in time with Wally's body.

King Orin approached Kaldur and laid a hand on his shoulder. He softly shook Kaldur, but the boy only murmured in his sleep and shifted without waking up.

King Orin glanced helplessly back at the other mentors. Barry gave an encouraging nod.

"We won't tell him," said Batman.

King Orin took a deep breath and picked up Kaldur in the same manner as the other mentors had. He held Kaldur awkwardly until he was sure he wouldn't wake up, then he relaxed.

"It has been a long time since I held Kaldur like this," King Orin said fondly.

With her teammates gone, Megan slowly toppled sideways on the couch. She still didn't wake up, though, so Red Tornado picked her up and carried her toward her room.

The three mentors holding their proteges looked from Batman to Robin, then back, most likely trying to decide if it would be safe to stick around and watch.

Batman ignored them. He walked up to Robin and adjusted his sunglasses, then scooped him up with an ease that testified this probably wasn't the first time he had cradled the young teen. The way Robin turned into Batman's chest only added to the fact.

Batman turned and started back for the zeta tubes. If he noticed the surprise and curiosity on the other mentors faces- which, face it, he did, this was Batman- he didn't show it.

After a moment, Red Tornado returned to relocate Connor, and the mentors shook off their surprise to hurry after Batman. It was time to get the young heroes home, and in bed.

* * *

 ** _A few days later_...**

 _Recognized... Robin B-zero-one_

As Robin exited the zeta tube, Wally dashed into the room. He skidded to a stop inches from Robin.

"Hey! Where you been?" Wally asked. Not bothering to wait, he rushed on, "Haven't seen you since Saturday. But, look, I'm finally back to normal!"

Robin stared at Wally through his sunglasses. Then, without warning, he drew back his fist and punched Wally's shoulder, making him stumble back. Robin might have been the youngest and smallest on the team, but he could punch hard.

"Hey, what gives?" Wally demanded, rubbing his shoulder.

"This," Robin growled. Well, tried to. His throat was sore and scratchy, making his voice embarrassingly squeaky.

Wally blinked. "You caught my cold?"

"This isn't funny," Robin squeaked out.

"No, no, not at all," Wally said, not bothering to hide his smile. "But, since you took care of me while I was sick, I should return the favor."

"No, I came to-"

"First rule: no talking," Wally mock-scolded. He moved around behind Robin and began pushing him further into Mount Justice. "You need to lay down. I'll make you some soup, and then you can have a nice rest."

"You can't cook," Robin protested, attempting to shrug away from Wally without success.

"Ah, what did I say? As for my cooking skills, you would be surprised..."

And the pair continued down the hall, Wally talking non-stop above Robin's arguments. Hidden in another hallway, the rest of the team smiled and laughed silently. Robin wasn't going to be getting away any time soon.


End file.
